Related articles

Alzheimer's Disease moves up the list as the public and NHS identify top health spending concerns.

In a new survey the UK public has identified which illnesses should be a priority for national health spending, 72% of people say cancer is a national priority, according to research from the ABPI.

A third of people cite heart disease, widely regarded as the second most prevalent and debilitating illness, and Alzheimer's is now the third most cited disease with 11% of the UK public demanding greater national health spending for the disease.

This means public concern over the need for greater investment in care, treatment and research into Alzheimer's disease has reached an unprecedented level. In a poll last year Alzheimer's ranked as only the 6th most pressing priority, but it's move 3 places up the list is a nod to the anxiety that the disease causes to about 700,000 people in the UK and their families.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, which is a progressive disease that kills brain cells, affecting memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion. Scientists believe that whatever triggers Alzheimer’s begins to damage the brain years before symptoms appear.

Best-selling Discworld author Terry Pratchett has recently drawn attention to Alzheimer’s by pledging $1million – around £500 000 – to UK charity the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, in a bid to help find a cure for the devastating disease, with which he was diagnosed in December 2007.

Pratchett’s donation is in recognition of the urgent need to provide funding for research into the disease, which affects an estimated 700,000 people in the UK. For every person with Alzheimer's, £11 is spent each year on UK research compared with £289 for each cancer patient, even though similar numbers of people are affected.

“There's nearly as many of us as there are cancer sufferers, and it looks as if the number of people with dementia will double within a generation,” said Pratchett. “In most cases, alongside the sufferer you will find a spouse suffering as much. It is a shock to find out that funding for Alzheimer’s research is just 3% of that to find cancer cures.” To read more on Pratchett’s awareness campaign, Click Here.

In total, £3.9 billion is being spent on medicines research in the UK. The ABPI findings show that there is a genuine join-up between public desire, Government action, academic research priorities and industry investment into these major illnesses. Yet only one third of people are confident that enough money is invested researching the diseases they are most concerned about.

National spending priorities according to the UK public

Cancer 72%
Heart disease 33%
Alzheimer's 11%
Diabetes 8%
HIV / Aids 7%
Arthritis 5%
Mental illness 5%
MS 3%
Children's illnesses 3%

To read more about Alzheimer's, Click Here.